


Losing Streak

by littlestarbird



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Drinking, M/M, Poker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:13:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22877665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlestarbird/pseuds/littlestarbird
Summary: Robin takes his glass, and holds it up in front of him. “Take an extra shot every time you win.”...Billy shrugs. “I’ll do it, but I got one condition of my own.” He knocks back his shot then, a little flushed from the alcohol, he smirks. “Every time I take an extra shot, you remove one item of clothing.”(Inspired by Robin's dialogue in "My Room")
Relationships: Billy the Kid | Archer/Robin Hood | Archer
Kudos: 49





	Losing Streak

“Tch – not again!” Robin tosses his cards down on the table with a defeated sigh, before reaching for another cigarette. “I’ll get you one of these days.”

Billy grins, twirling a blonde curl around his finger. “This losin’ streak of yours has been going on for a _mighty_ long time, Robin…”

Robin scowls, while his clumsy fingers fumble with the pretty silver lighter he stole from Billy the last time they hung out. Tutting, Billy snatches it and lights the cigarette, before protectively pocketing his lighter. He’s sure it’ll end up in Robin’s possession again before the end of the night and he’ll at least _pretend_ to be indignant about it, but if it gives him even the flimsiest of excuses to talk to Robin again he really doesn’t mind.

“Those shots sure went to your head, huh?” Billy teases.

Robin slouches back in his chair, watching Billy’s eyes twinkle with mischief. He’s never noticed how blue they are until now. He tilts his head back, exhaling a long plume of smoke towards the ceiling, but never takes his eyes off his companion.

“That is a schemin’ look if I ever saw one.”

Robin’s lips curl into a smile. “I’m just thinking of a way to even out the odds.”

Billy raises an eyebrow, then reaches for the whiskey to refill their shot glasses. “Oh?”

Robin takes his glass, and holds it up in front of him. “Take an extra shot every time you win.”

Laughing, Billy shakes his head. “Well, that don’t seem fair. You got, what, fifteen kilos on me?”

“You can take it.” He takes a long drag on his cigarette before stubbing it in the empty cola can he’s been using as an ashtray, then drains his glass. “Come on… It might be fun.”

Billy shrugs. “I’ll do it, but I got one condition of my own.” He knocks back his shot then, a little flushed from the alcohol, he smirks. “Every time I take an extra shot, you remove one item of clothing.”

“I, uh…” Robin glances down at his outfit. It’ll only take a few losses before he’s completely naked. He clears his throat. “What?”

Billy splashes more whiskey into his little glass. “You want me to drink this? You know what you got to do.”

Robin’s eyes widen in panic. He can’t quite tell if Billy’s joking.

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” he mutters, before pulling his tunic up over his head and tossing it in a heap in the corner of the room. “It’s too hot in here anyway.” He nods towards the generously-filled glass. “Go on then, drink up.”

Without even trying to be subtle, Billy looks Robin up and down with an approving nod. “Damn. If I knew it’d be this easy to get you naked, I woulda tried this weeks ago.”

Robin feels himself blush all over. He tries to hide behind the curtain of red hair that always falls over his eye, but from the way Billy’s grinning at him he knows he’s not hiding a damn thing.

“I hope you’re not trying to throw me off my game,” he grumbles as he shuffles the cards. “Hurry up and get that whiskey in you. I’m going to beat you tonight, I swear.”

As he shudders at the delicious burn of the whiskey on his tongue, Billy’s cheeks darken even more than Robin’s. He clears his throat. “We’ll see about that.”

The game is five card stud, Billy’s choice; they each toss a couple of bottle caps into the centre of the table, then Robin slowly lays the first two cards face down on the table. He watches Billy’s expression as he lifts his card off the table, but his easy smile is hard to read, even after knowing him for all this time.

Robin’s heart refuses to slow down as he takes a tentative peek at his card. Two of diamonds. With trembling fingers, he reaches for another cigarette.

“Where’s my lighter?”

“You mean _my_ lighter?” Billy teases, shaking his head as he passes it over. “Our little bet’s made you nervous, huh?”

Robin doesn’t say anything, just puts a single bottle cap into the middle of the table.

Billy nods and does the same. His face is still utterly unreadable.

The next two cards are the jack of hearts for Billy and the four of clubs for Robin; the former grins, and places three bottle caps in the centre, while Robin narrows his eyes, watching him through the coils of smoke drifting up towards the ceiling.

“It’s a bit early to be that confident, isn’t it?” he mutters, seeing Billy’s bet. The bottle caps don’t really matter, so much as the fact that he’s almost certain he’s going to lose and have to remove his trousers – and for some reason he’s both terrified and _excited_ by the prospect.

Robin deals the next two cards, then takes a heavy drag on his cigarette before stubbing it in the can. Billy’s got the jack of spades while he’s still got sweet fuck all, with the six of clubs.

 _Why won’t my heart stop beating so fast?_ Robin’s fingers instinctively lean towards his rapidly diminishing pack of cigarettes, but he redirects them towards the whiskey bottle instead and pours a couple of shots, staring Billy down.

Billy confidently flicks a bottle cap into the centre of the table. There’s a hint of a curl at the edge of his lips now. He leans forward, grabs the shot, and holds it up as if he’s toasting to something.

“Hadn’t you better slow down, Robin? You’re gonna be naked _and_ drunk at this rate…”

Robin clinks his shot glass against Billy’s, then knocks it back. He’d rather be naked and drunk than just… naked. He’s not even lost the game yet, but it feels like Billy’s already stripped away his clothes, leaving him with only a strange and novel vulnerability that he’s not quite sure how to deal with; there’s a reason he always says _the fewer strings the better_.

“Fuck it. Let’s just get this over with,” says Robin, wincing as the taste of whiskey lingers in the back of his throat. He deals the next couple of cards, and sighs to himself as he reveals the jack of spades. “Billy, did you stack the bloody deck or something?”

Billy grins, teeth sparkling in the dim light. “Aw, do you really think I’d do a thing like that?”

“Yes! Well…” Robin looks at the innocent face smiling back at him, and his heart flutters. “Don’t give me those puppy-dog eyes.”

“Oh?” Billy leans closer, cocks his head playfully to one side.

Robin wants to be annoyed, but Billy’s eyes are so blue and his face so sweet – even with the mischief in his smile – that he can’t do anything but shake his head and smile right along with him.

“Well, looks like I’d better raise my bet – with that three, four and six, I don’t reckon you got a damn thing, Robin.” As he drops three more bottle caps in the middle of the table, he bites his lip, then whispers in his companion’s ear, “You might as well give up now and get comfortable in your underwear.”

“Are you teasing me?” Robin’s burning all over, from the tips of his ears to his flushed chest. He swallows, turning to avoid Billy’s smiling blue eyes. “Don’t you think you’ve taken this far enough?” He reaches for another cigarette.

Billy leans back again, chuckling. “I know you’re fond of your poison, but I don’t think I ever seen you smoke so much.”

Robin just raises an eyebrow, nonchalantly tosses enough bottle caps into the rapidly growing pile to see his friend’s bet, and flicks the lighter. “Master’s going to be pissed off anyway that we’ve been drinking all night and smoking inside – what’s another cigarette going to do?”

“Sure, sure… Nothin’ to do with those nerves, huh?”

Shaking his head, Robin deals the final round – a king for Billy, and the two of bloody clubs for him.

Billy studies him for a while, then his lips spread into an infuriating smirk. “See now… That card on the table could be a five for all I know, and you got a straight. An’ maybe all I got is these three jacks…”

Robin shrugs, trying to maintain a straight face. He grabs a handful of bottle caps and puts them onto the pile. “Are you willing to take that risk?”

“Yeah, Robin. Yeah I am.”

“Tch – your funeral.”

They stare each other down for a moment, before Billy breaks into laughter and flips his final card over. The queen of diamonds.

“Too bad I was bluffing,” says Robin with a chuckle, revealing his final card. “Bad for me, that is.”

His gaze flickers downwards and he’s suddenly very focussed on watching the column of smoke twist upwards from his cigarette as it slowly burns down.

Billy grabs the whiskey and takes a shot straight from the bottle, then slams it down on the table. “Well, that’s my forfeit…”

“You’re _definitely_ enjoying this way too much.”

Billy nods slowly. “I really am. I would apologise, but… I ain’t all that sorry.”

Robin glares.

“Hey… We can call it quits if you want. Get some more whiskey into you instead.”

But Robin shakes his head. “I agreed to it, didn’t I?” He shakes his head, stands up, and makes a show of pulling off his trousers before kicking them over towards his tunic. He gestures down across his toned, exposed body. “Is this what you wanted?”

It’s Billy’s turn to flush a deep red, before averting his gaze. “Uh… well, you know…”

Grinning, Robin stuffs the filter tip of his cigarette into the cola can, then flops back down. “Where’s that confidence now?”

Biting his lip in a failed attempt to hide one of the widest smiles Robin’s ever seen, Billy shakes his head. “Stop it, you got me feelin’ all shy.” His eyes widen slightly at just how tight Robin’s boxers are. He clears his throat, and suddenly his voice is a lot more serious. “Man, I thought I didn’t like people too much – my idea of a perfect night was just me an’ the stars – but recently… Well, I could quite happily spend every single night just here with you.”

Robin scoffs. “You’d spend every night drinking with a lowlife like me?”

“Being with you is as good as being alone, Robin. There’s not many people I can say that about.”

Robin’s heart flutters. He’s still very aware of how exposed he is, how the thin cotton of his boxers doesn’t cover a damn thing, but Billy’s loose tongue levels the field somewhat.

“An’ I know you’re gonna shrug this off the way you always do, but… you mean a lot to me.”

“I know,” Robin says carefully. “I’ve really come to appreciate all the time we spend together… even if I haven’t won a single game of poker in weeks.”

There’s a twinkle in Billy’s eye at that, then a painful silence as he struggles to find the right words to move forward.

Luckily, he doesn’t have to; Robin takes a long swig of whiskey, slams the bottle down on the table, then mutters something like “I hope I don’t regret this” under his breath. He stands up, grabs Billy’s hand, then drags him upright and into a long kiss.

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” Robin whispers as Billy draws back, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

“Yeah…” Billy’s hands trace soft patterns over Robin’s toned back. “Yeah, it is.”

For the first time since Robin’s trousers came off, they make eye contact. Billy reaches up and brushes the scruffy ginger hair away from Robin’s face, before kissing him again.

A few moments later, he’s chuckling to himself so much that he has to pull away.

“What’s so funny?”

Billy’s eyes flicker briefly downwards. “How can I put this…” He bites his bottom lip to stifle a nervous laugh. “Either you’re gonna have to put your clothes on, or I’m gonna have to take mine off… an’ I know which I’d prefer.”


End file.
